Fred Olness, professor of physics and 2009-10 Faculty Senate president, was named Dedman Family Distinguished Professor. He is a specialist in elementary particle physics phenomenology with an emphasis in quantum chromodynamics, and his research seeks to determine the fundamental building blocks of nature and what holds them together. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2005 and has conducted research with the Theoretical Physics Group at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. He has written more than 100 research articles and is co-author (with Robert L. Zimmerman) of the textbook Mathematica for Physics, now in its second edition. Olness joined the SMU faculty in 1991 and has received numerous awards, including the Ford Research Fellowship in 2009, the “M” Award in 2007, and the Distinguished University Citizen Award in 2006.

Political science, finance and French major Charanya Krishnaswami received the Robert and Nancy Dedman Outstanding Senior Student Award. A President’s Scholar from Plano, she is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Robert Stewart Hyer Society and the University Honors Program. She served as community service coordinator for her Residence Hall Council and as vice president of SMU Mock Trial. In addition, she was a student editor and Henry S. Miller Research Fellow with SMU’s Tower Center for Political Studies. She plans to attend law school and pursue a career with the United Nations as a human rights lawyer.

SMU students aren’t just wishing for a better world: They’re creating one. Meet Andres, Allison, Warren, Jamie, Rob and Charanya – and learn what makes them leaders, advocates and adventurers – at The Face of SMU.